Emily Sweeney's luge crash stuns Olympic crowds

Sweeney was on curve No. 12 in her final run of the event when she bounced around the track and crashed.

Sweeney was conscious and she eventually got up and walked off the ice under her own power, though she was moving gingerly. She was taken to the Olympic Village clinic for evaluation, said USA Luge.

Sweeney, 24, had difficulties in curves 8 and 9 before she crashed, according to a tweet sent out by USA Luge shortly after the accident.

"Emily was picked up and brought to the finish building where an initial examination was given by the medical staff," the tweet said. "It was determined that, while feeling bruised and sore, she was OK."

Sweeney had no broken bones, a representative from the International Luge Federation told CNN, adding that she walked and gave interviews after her luge crash.

Sweeney said the big curves on the track just got away from her.

"I know I caught a good amount of air going in to (turn) 12, and I just couldn't stop it," Sweeney told NBC after the accident. "There's a lot of pressures in these big curves, and unfortunately I was not taking them correctly, so it was pretty rough."

She said she felt sore and stiff after her big spill.

"I'm going to go get an X-ray on my back after this, but I wanted to have the last word," she said. "So, thanks for all the support, guys. Yeah, it's a bummer, for sure, and I know I'm better than that, but here we are. It happens."

After a brief delay, the competition resumed.

Sweeney is competing in her first Olympics after missing out on a spot in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. She's a junior world champion, and her older sister Megan is a former Olympic luger.

Sweeney, who is also a member of the National Guard, missed out on a spot on the 2010 Winter Olympics team after losing a special race-off -- to her big sister.